Eyewitness identification for prudent police

Abstract

Purpose

Both anecdotal and empirical evidence indicates that even well-intentioned eyewitnesses can make inaccurate identifications resulting in erroneous prosecutions and wrongful convictions. The risk of erroneous identification increases when witnesses are asked to identify people belonging to other races. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the policies which enhance the likelihood of obtaining accurate identifications from eyewitnesses. Legal implications especially relevant to police administrators in the USA including constitutional considerations and risks of civil liability are integrated with the empirical record and used to make policy recommendations likely to decrease legal and public relations entanglements for police.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper integrates an empirical literature review with legal research and analysis in order to advocate for prudent policy reforms.

Findings

Both the empirical record and current US law indicate that police administrators would be well-advised to require serial, double-blind identification procedures where witnesses are routinely warned about the perpetrator’s potential absence and required to give immediate certainty statements. Officers should be prohibited from using the same suspect with the same witness more than once and should be provided with training on the inherent dangers of inaccuracy associated with cross-racial identifications.

Originality/value

While a significant amount of material concerning eyewitness identification exists, most of the existing work does not integrate legal realities, especially those concerning civil liability, within the framework of the eyewitness identification literature. Nor does past work contextualize the need for reform with the emerging racially charged atmosphere in which US police must currently work.

Citation

McGuire, M.D., Kenny, T. and Grabic, A. (2015), "Eyewitness identification for prudent police", Policing: An International Journal, Vol. 38 No. 4, pp. 598-609. https://doi.org/10.1108/PIJPSM-05-2015-0055